the syndicate

ezra ozdemir. 26. captain.

[ezraozdemir]

@atticusxmcclain

[ezraozdemir]

brielleperez​:

“Basically,” she laughed, despite how accurate it seemed. The gaping wound in her leg, though healing wasn’t helped at all by the flames that scored at her legs on Halloween, nor did her lungs find comfort within the smoke. Haunting - everything was just fucking haunting. It pissed her off, for every reminder it left that she was only one - rather small, person. While she did want to make a light mention that she wasn’t the only one in the room who’d been through it - Brielle still didn’t quite know how to broach the subject of what had happened to Ezra. “I’ve never folded any of my laundry, ever. You’re not doing me a favor, you’re bringing in a new standard that I just can’t be expected to live by,” the mocking tone of her voice light as ever, “It’s going to give me hives. Do you wanna be the reason that I get hives, Ez?”

.

“Just let me do it, Bri.” Ezra’s voice came with a slight edge, which she hadn’t meant to pop through. It had to be the stress from everything and the need to feel useful again, even in a small way like this. She looked at Brielle for a moment, catching her gaze just enough to give her a silent apology before continuing. “Besides, I get anything you don’t want anymore so that’s always a perk.” She said a bit softer this time as she folded the last couple of pieces and placed them on top of Brielle’s dresser before finding a spot on her best friend’s bed. “Gross. Do you get hives often? Because you should really get that checked out.” Ezra was usually a glass half full kind of person so when her tone fell flat like now it meant she was joking or teasing whoever she was with. Ezra exhaled and dropped down with her back against the bed. “So have you given it anymore thought?” She asked about the soldier thing. 

[ezraozdemir]

atticusxmcclain​:

NYE PARTY  December 31st w/ @ezraozdemir​

Atticus promised himself he would keep an eye on Ezra tonight and he would never admit his eyes found her in the crowd more times than it should have when he had someone else has his date. He muttered to Brielle about going to check on the Ozdemir woman before separating from her to close the distance between him and the other woman. He walked up to the bar, letting his eyes glance down her then back up to her. “You look beautiful tonight, Ez.” He gave her a soft smile as he extended his hand out. “How about a dance? You should be having fun too.”

.

This sucked. Ezra’s sisters were keeping her out of any plans since the incident happened and when she tried to prove herself, show them that she was as good as new and ready to spring back into action all she ever received were cautious stares. The truth was that it infuriated her and that wasn’t something she ever thought she’d feel towards family. And then there was also the whole situation with Atticus and her best friend. Ezra didn’t want to think about that but she knew where her loyalties would lie and that’s always be with Brielle, and they looked good together at the party. Not that she was staring, she’d only stolen a glance at them a few times. Or maybe a bit more than a few times… where were they now? “A-Atticus.” Ezra chocked out in surprise. What’d he just say? “You and Brielle, too. Look, uh, beautiful I mean.” What? She propped up a smile and then stared at his palm for a moment. She needed to be less obvious about her feelings. “I am.” She claimed, still staring at his hand. “A blast actually.” What? It was funny how the woman could go from cool, calm, and collected while training others or on a mission but the second he was near her all of her guards dropped. “But I suppose a dance wouldn’t hurt.” She took his hand after realizing that it looked like she was leaving him hanging.

[ezraozdemir]

atticusxmcclain​:

If there was one person in this compound who knew him inside and out, it was the woman sitting next to him. As much as he tried to put up a wall to make it impossible for people to know him, the Ozdemir woman somehow had seen past it all. Fletcher, of course, was the one who knew the deep secrets like what the two of them had done a few years back but Ezra knew what his hands were capable of and somehow she still looked at him as if he was normal. Or the kid she always knew while they were growing up. He brushed his tongue along his lower lip as he glided the pad of his thumb against the palm of his hand. “Funny, if you were here early how come you don’t have more done then me?” He teased as he gave her a sly grin, turning his attention back to the fire. “I can do whatever you need me to do. My whole day is empty, I finished everything here at the compound I was supposed to.”

.

“Because training doesn’t start until noon, silly. I just got here so I haven’t had a chance to get more done than you.” Ezra repeated after him before she reached forward, tapping his forehead a couple of times with her index finger. A small smile crossed her features as she did so. “Where’s your head, huh?” Funny. Ezra couldn’t even remember the last time she smiled because of someone. Dammit, she had it bad. “Sounds like you had a busy morning then.” Ezra leaned back again, tucking a lose strand behind her ear. She always felt dumb when her heart leaped for Atticus. It wasn’t like he was doing anything special at the moment either, but maybe that was why it sucked even more. She liked him just for him, and all he did was look away from her any chance he had. The whole unrequited thing would get old at some point. Right? She had bigger fish to fry at the moment anyway, and there was no time for such juvenile interests. “Mhm. Anything?” She tapped her chin now as she thought. People came and went from the common area, all with a task to do. “How about some one on one training? Before the new soldiers get in.”

[ezraozdemir]

aylinozdemir​:

Aylin had always been more serious than she should have been, knowing she should have been more willing to loosen up but those few hours where they couldn’t find Ezra had been the most terrifying hours of her life and it was hard to deal with the fact that it was so easy for the Vronskys to snatch up any one of them without hesitation. The state they had left her baby sister in was sick and all she could feel was the desire for revenge. She brushed her tongue along her lower lip as she slowly put her hot cup of coffee down on the table, shaking her head. “I really don’t know what you want me to say, Ez.” She lifted her eyes up towards her. “We not close to doing anything right now. After what happened at LITE we’re just trying to figure out our next move.”

.

To start? Maybe the truth. But Ezra couldn’t say that to Aylin, this was one of her older sisters she was talking to and as close as they were growing up and even now, there was still a level of respect she held around the brunette. Ezra pulled the coffee cup to her lips and took a sip first. “Can you let me in on it when it gets figured out?” She would’ve rather been there, working alongside the Syndicates, to figure it out but she knew that they were all being extra protective over her at the moment and arguing wouldn’t do any good. “I want to teach those bastards what happens when they step out of line.” And with that, Ezra relaxed into Aylin’s couch, bringing the mug with her. “I’m going back to the compound this week. It’s been too long and I can’t ignore my role.” She was well aware that she wouldn’t be the first to experience something traumatic and certainly wouldn’t be the last, everyone else worked through it and she had to as well.

[ezraozdemir]

dilaraeozdemir​:

Despite the way in which the Syndicate leader had found herself inundated with work, it had failed to skip her attention that the youngest of the family had been somewhat missing in action, in the weeks that followed her kidnapping. And while Dilara had checked in on her briefly when time allowed it, she had yet to sit down with her baby sister and have a conversation that lasted a little longer than simple pleasantries. Whether that was because a part of her felt the need to avoid the other while she got a handle on her own guilt for the cruelties her sister had endure at the hand of the Bratva, or because she too felt shame for not having made more time for her family. The very people that were her driving force behind her decision to even step up take her father’s place within the dynasty he had created. It was imposter syndrome at it’s finest. “Ezra. What a pleasant surprise.“ She breathed in greeting, somewhat taken aback by the impromptu visit as she looked up from the papers laid out upon her desk before her. “Busy enough to turn my sister away, not a chance.” She mused, motioning for her to take a seat. “Please, come in. I’ve been meaning to track you down, given I owe you an apology.”

.

Pleasant surprised. Ezra nodded and moved forward. “I came bec—” She knew that Dilara was a busy woman and the youngest Ozdemir had no intension of holding her up longer than needed but Ezra paused as Dilara continued her thought. “You don’t owe me anything.” She shook her head dismissively. “I know you’re working a lot.” Not just for the Syndicates but for me too, she thought. Ezra closed the space between her and the chair across her sister’s desk. She pulled on its back until she could move around and take a seat. “I’ll get right to it, alright?” No catching up, despite the need to. Ezra took a breath and slowly let go. “I... remember.” She stated, as if Dilara was supposed to know what she meant by that. “The night I was taken. I remember. Not everything, I don’t know where they took me or who they were exactly but, I think it was a warehouse by some docks because I remember the sound of the waves crashing.” A rush of adrenaline flooded through her as she spoke about what happened that night for the first time since the initial debriefing she complied with. “But there were four at first and they must’ve handed me off to someone else because his voice was different. Another man, the one that did this,” She took her sunglasses off, revealing the injuries on her eyes. They wouldn’t be there forever, or so she hoped, but they were still red and scabbed over and would’ve been shocking to look at if they weren’t desensitized to worse. She wasn’t conscious for long but she was telling her everything she could rack up. “One man and three women.” She repeated. “The second man was more than just muscle, more than an errand boy.” Because what they did to Ezra was about sending a message, it was obvious that it was someone trained to do just that. “And I saw his eyes.” She didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget them despite the blood that stained her own vision at the time. “They’re brown, hooded.” She nodded a bit as she recalled the way the corners of them creased as if he’d had a life full of laughter at other people’s expense. “He’s older. Late thirties or early forties.” Ezra pressed her lips together for a moment. “Dilara... he knew Turkish.”  He’d taunted her in their native tongue. 

[ezraozdemir]

atticusxmcclain​:

Atticus chuckled lowly at her words as his eyes drifted towards her without turning his head. One quick glance and the one thing he noticed was the fact she was still wearing those sunglasses everywhere. All he could think about was the whirlwind of emotions he had felt when she went missing and the day they found her in front of the station. In fact, when the young assassin could he was revisiting the site and retracing her steps to try and figure out who out of the Bratva did the things they did. “You shouldn’t,” the male commented after a second as he leaned further back into the seat. He raised up, brushing his thumb along the side of his neck as he shook his head at her words. “Already did that this morning,” he focused on the fire instead of letting any of his attention fall onto her. “What about you? Shouldn’t you be teaching someone?”

.

Ezra had always been tough but she had a heart and it was obvious in most of her interactions, however, something changed in her, Just how she noticeably harder, Atticus was noticeably more... focused. Not that he hadn’t been before all of this but there was a speck of determination in his eyes that Ezra hadn’t witnessed before. She figured that there was not point in mulling over it too much since everyone at the Syndicate compound was on edge and the festivities coming up did nothing to qualm anyone’s nerves. Leaning back a bit, Ezra narrowed her eyes at  Atticus’s silly little quip but that’s all she did, she wasn’t really in the mood for joking around— she hadn’t been for a while. And then he continued and she gave him a look that said everything she was thinking, “Yeah yeah. Sheesh. I showed up early, alright?” At least she showed up... it’d also been some time. Ezra found herself staring at the way he pushed his thumb along his skin, mesmerized by him in the same way he was extra attentive to the fire. She snapped out of it and leaned all the way back in the seat. “Then what are you plans today?” Bummin’ it wasn’t really on the table for them.

[ezraozdemir]

[ezraozdemir]

atticusxmcclain​:

THE SYNDICATE COMPOUND December 1st w/ @ezraozdemir​

Atticus leaned back against the bean bag chair, his feet stretched out in front of him as the heat from the fire place warmed his body. The Chicago winter weather was finally kicking in and to say that he was freezing his ass off was an understatement. He put his hands out in front of him, rubbing them together when he heard some foot steps down the hall, his head tilting up to look in the direction they were coming from. When Ezra came into view, a small smile came along his features before he pulled his eyes away to look at the fire. Of course, the last thing he was going to do was pay any attention to what had happened a few months ago. He was sure that she was sick of everyone treating her like she was a vase that was about to break. “If you came to get warmed up, I’m not moving. My ass is here to stay.”

.

After a month or so of going AWOL, Ezra finally started to get around the compound once more. All it really took was a conversation with Dilara to give her that little extra push and besides, it was time she started living her life again. She was a Syndicate Captain after all, and that meant something. She walked through the doors, bypassing any and all security measures without a hitch, straight to one of the common areas where she saw him. Atticus McClain. With a name like that it was hard not to notice the man wherever he went, but that’s all. Ezra’s eyes trailed to him behind her dark shades as she took her sweater off, laying it over a chair across from him. She sat down and her scarf followed suit as she pulled it off and folded it nicely over her lap while the sunglasses remained. She had no idea about the measures he’d taken to make sure she pulled through after her kidnapping. If she had, she’d thank him. “I don’t trust that smile, Atticus.” Her tone was even, smooth like usual but colder than normal. Could he blame her? But then his statement pulled a scoff and chuckle out of her. “Always a gentleman. Aren’t you supposed to be at the range? Practicing.” She couldn’t help but look over to him, turning her head to see what he was holding so delicately in his hands. It was such an odd sight considering his position in the group.

[ezraozdemir]

[ezraozdemir]

location: Brielle’s place who: @brielleperez​ — closed.

“Just let me do this for you. I mean, look at you, you’re basically incapacitated right now.” What happened to Brielle made Ezra want to drive a corkscrew through someone’s eye socket, and not only for the attack at Lite but also for the most recent events. The chaos in Chicago was fueling everyone and Ezra knew her best friend was looking into officially becoming a soldier with the Syndicates, which was something she fully supported. There was no point of living such a dangerous lifestyle if they didn’t know how to protect themselves and Brielle taking on the new position would mean she’d had even more of an army behind her as well. “Don’t look at me like that, Bri. Friends do favors for each other.” Ezra shot the woman a soft smile before continuing to fold the laundry. She felt pretty useless everywhere else so at least she could help Brielle with this at the moment. 

[ezraozdemir]

location: Syndicate compound who: @dilaraeozdemir​​ — closed.

Indoors and outdoors, Ezra was wearing sunglasses everywhere these days. She’d been cooped up in the family home several weeks after her kidnapping as she recovered from her more severe injuries but the trauma that lingered wasn’t something she could move past so easily. She was in the revenge stage and she couldn’t see past it so she thought a lot about that night. She thought about her injured family and friends, she thought about the fear and the anger, she thought about everything and moved through each nightmare to see if she could trigger her memory. Her memory had gone dark for the majority of what happened, but he finally had tidbits and she needed to tell Dilara. For the first time since everything happened, Ezra walked through the Syndicate compound all the way to her sister’s office. The bodyguards outside let her through and she closed the door after herself before turning. She slowly exhaled, shifting a blurry gaze to the woman there. “Merhaba abla.” She started, ignoring the fact that she hadn’t spoken to Dilara in a while. “Are you busy?”

[ezraozdemir]

aylinozdemir​:

Aylin put her cup of coffee down on the surface of the table in front of her, pulling the cooler closer to start pulling out all the winter themed creamers out and placing them around her mug. She knew that Ezra had been feeling down since what happened to her and any one of them probably would have been in the same boat as her especially because what had happened to her was so out there because of the scars on her face. At Ezra’s joke about being the ugliest one, the expression on the dark-haired woman’s features didn’t change. In fact, she made sure it was unreadable because she knew her sister well enough to know that bad humor was the way she got through things but she didn’t find the joke funny herself. She lifted her eyes up towards the woman in front of her. “You’re not ugly,” she told her softly. “And I don’t know what you mean. Nothing has been going on.”

.

Ezra took a bit of creamer from Aylin and poured it into her coffee. The warm cup heated her hands in a delightful way that perfectly juxtaposed the topic of conversation between the two. She ignored the comment that was supposed to make her feel better and, instead, wished Aylin would just laugh for once. What happened to her wasn’t a joking matter but feeling this heavy... sucked. And then what happened with her, the fire could’ve gone so much worse. “Don’t lie to me, Lini. I’m not as naïve as you think.” It was true and they both knew it. As much as the family tried to treat Ezra as the baby, she was tried like the rest of them growing up. It was why she was ready to face death at the hands of the man who tortured her rather than outing anything about the Syndicates to him. 

[ezraozdemir]

aylinozdemir​:

Aylin had to admit, the last few months had been shitty for them all. It was as if making the first move was the opening to the war they were willing to create. If she was honest, the last person she had expected to get hurt the most was their baby sister. The way Ezra sobbed and broke down in her arms after they found her was enough to make this more real for the older Ozdemir child. She turned her head to look over her shoulder towards Ezra, watching her as she got everything together. She knew her sister’s vision hadn’t been the same as the night that monster took away her ability to see. She thought killing Kate would have been enough for them but apparently not. “Those green drinks are the best thing ever. You should try one.” She chuckled as she reached out, taking the cup of coffee once her sister got close enough. “It’s because the creamer is right here in the cooler. I made sure to make it easier on us and maybe we can mix flavors together.”

.

“No, thank you.” She made a face got the message across that she thought they looked like puke and probably tasted like it too. Ever since her eyes were literally sown shut, Ezra felt completely useless both as an Ozdemir and in the Syndicate. She was extremely grateful that Aylin hadn’t been hurt during the fire but as horrible as it sounded, Ezra was glad that the family had someone else to hover over and gave her a bit of room to breathe. “Oh. Right.” She nodded, trying to remember what side of the room the cooler was at but everything was so fuzzy that she gave up and sat down to drink her coffee black before Aylin could notice. “Tell me the truth, did you get burned a little bit and are just pretending to be tough or am I still the ugliest one?” She hated the scars and she couldn’t wait until she could cover them up and get them treated. Ezra was usually a sweet soul, but the bitterness she felt towards her situation was obvious in the bad humor she echoed. “Lini...” Her nickname for her older sister, “Could you tell me what’s been happening? Everyone’s been keeping me in the dark.” She hadn’t meant for that to sound like a bad pun. 

[ezraozdemir]

location: aylin’s place who: @aylinozdemir​ — closed.

Ezra had never been more scared in her entire life than when she was kidnapped, but she didn’t want her family to know. She hid away for a couple of weeks until she mostly recovered and looked presentable enough to pretend she was fine and unaffected. The only person who’d seen her breakdown in those first few hours after she was released and came back to consciousness was Aylin. She remembered sobbing into her older sister’s arms feeling like the world was caving in all around her, she could vividly recall the way she begged Aylin to help her out of the family business as she sought the brunette’s comfort. And now, as she thought back to that time, Ezra felt embarrassed... which meant that she had to be the toughest around the person who’d been there at her weakest. Her vision wasn’t the same since but she had surgery coming up to hopefully fix that. “I hope you like your coffee black because I couldn’t find any creamer. Serious, Aylin, you have like ten different kinds of green drinks but you don’t have any creamer?” She remarked as she walked to the living room with two cups in her hand. 

[ezraozdemir]

aylinozdemir​:

CHICAGO LITE September 5th w / @ezraozdemir​

Aylin spotted her baby sister not to far away from her, a smile coming along her features as she walked over to the young Ozdemir. She walked over in the direction of her sister, reaching out and putting her arms around her to give her a hug. “Hey.” She smiled as she pulled back. “Are you having fun?” She asked. She thought about making the rounds to all her siblings to make sure they were all doing okay. “What are you drinking? Let me go get you another one.”

.

Ezra heard the familiar greeting and was already smiling as she let her head drop back to look at her sister just as Aylin’s arms wrapped around her. “Definitely not, I reserve all of my fun for when you’re around.” She winked at Aylin before tapping the seat at her side for her to take. “No, I’m capping myself off before I make a fool out of myself so sit down, lady.” She was only ever this easy going with her family. “C’mon you have to try these appetizers. I swear rich people places always have the best food. Where is everyone, huh? You’re the first cute sib I’ve seen tonight.” 

[ezraozdemir]

axeltaycr​:

“I’d save your screams,” the male muttered in a dark tone of voice. He had to give it to her she was a fighter and the worst part was he knew by the end of this that she would be a broken shell of herself. There was no way she would be able to emotionally get past what he had been ordered to do especially when the message was clear as day. Eye for an eye. Knuckles bruised, the almost lifeless body of the youngest Ozdemir strapped to the chair. There had only been one last thing he had to do, plucking the string and needle from his tray he began his work. Perfect stitching. Sometimes it was an irony that he used his hands for violence instead of saving lives… He could have been one hell of a doctor. After he finished, he tossed the stuff onto the tray and reached down to untie her. He lifted her up off the chair and walked towards the van. He had to get himself cleaned up to attend a meeting with her big sister. He gave the men standing by the van a nod as he tossed her into the back of it, brushing his hands together as he glanced towards them. “I’ll give you a call when it’s time to dump her.” He leaned in, resting his knee against the flooring of the van as he reached out, grabbing her jaw between his index finger and his thumb as he leaned down towards her ear. “Remember this the next time you and your family get any ideas to come after this family,” he muttered. “I’ll see you soon.” He let go of her jaw, moving away from the van, watching as the men next to it shut the door and got into the vehicle to drive it away from the compound. 

.

“AHHHHHH!” Ezra didn’t mean to scream, she didn’t mean to show any weakness but in that moment almost all of her nightmares had come to life. She knew he would kill her, and it wouldn’t be in cold blood because this was how their world worked. This was nothing more than retaliation, her body was being used for no greater purpose than revenge a a restoration of balance. This was what she would die for, not for her family and not for anything worth saving but for their lifestyle. The shouting only stopped when she started coughing up blood, when her vision started to go blurry, and when her perfectly manicured nails had been ripped off either by the man torturing her or by her clawing at the armrest of the chair she was strapped to. What would her family do? At least this was her and not them. And then, when she was barely conscious, the sowing started. Every moment that passed she wondered when the human body would stop tolerating pain, when it would be overcome with hurt and refuse to fight any longer. Blood stained spit oozed from her lips, willingly this time. And even though it looked more like drool, it was on purpose— her last act of defiance against the man and who bossed him around like a sad puppet before her world went dark. 

END